Holland said that the agency plans to bring an actuary on board in March to help refine projections and to provide options for potentially changing the rate structure.
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Keiser has introduced a bill that would lower the employee share from 73% to 42% without raising the rate on business, instead allocating state funds to make up the difference. "I suspect that the huge hit that we took with COVID had a lot to do with the increase in paid family leave," Democratic Sen. Holland said it was difficult to know if the pandemic caused additional strain on the fund, since the benefit started right at the start of it, but lawmakers said they want additional details. “And so it does seem that it's likely that we will have a cash deficit situation in March or April of 2022.” “Because of the popularity of the program and the amount of benefits paid we’ve seen the fund balance continue to go down,” Carole Holland, the chief financial office for the agency. 1% could be ultimately be added to the current rate if the account balance falls below a certain range.
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Under the law, an additional solvency surcharge of at least. Officials with the Employment Security Department told lawmakers at a Senate Ways & Means Committee hearing last week that since the cash influx from the tax rate increase won't be available until the end of the first quarter, there are concerns about the fund's solvency and said that a deficit was likely soon. That's because of a provision in the law that dictates how much of the rate will be allocated to employees is based on the ratio of family leave claims increasing compared to medical leave claims.Īs of this week, more than 37% of total applications have been for bonding with a new child, over 50% were for someone dealing with a serious health condition, and nearly 12% have been for caring for a family member with a serious health condition. 6% of workers’ wages, and employees’ share increased to 73%, with the remainder paid by employers. When premiums started in 2019, 0.4% of workers’ wages funded the program, with 63% paid by employees and 37% paid by employers. Since the start of the program, the Employment Security Department has processed more than 365,000 individual applications and has paid out more than 2.2 million weekly claims. In the first six weeks, more than triple the amount of people expected applied for the program, and the demand has continued to be high. The program saw benefit delays when it first went live in January 2020, right before the pandemic hit. Weekly benefits are calculated based on a percentage of the employee’s wages and the state’s weekly average wage - which is now $1,475 - though the weekly amount paid out is capped at $1,327.